Last week the Friends of Yemen conference took place in New York. The conference is supposed to be a key in building a reformed, developed and democratic Yemen.
According to a senior official in the ruling party, the Shabwa attacks against what the government claimed were against Al-Qaeda and displaced over 12000 people were not what everyone thought of them to be. Not one high profile Al-Qaeda member was among those who the government was fighting. The official claims that the government made it seem that it was fighting Al-Qaeda so that it can ensure more funds and support when the Friends of Yemen met last week.
It worked! The friends meeting gave Yemen almost unconditional support, focusing very little on reforms in a country were corruption is among the highest worldwide.
Didn’t the World Bank say that if Yemen does not have strong reforms it will not fund the government? Then why is it giving Yemen hundreds of millions of dollars while in the same time no REAL reforms have taken place in the last ten years.
Every dollar the current government receives without making reforms only makes the country more corrupt.
President Saleh over the last three years has learned a lot from the U.S. as he is always using the media for his favor, even if it meant to spread lies, like the Shabwa attack against Al-Qaeda.
Displacing 12000 citizens and giving them basically no food or shelter for over one week for the sake of showing the world that you are fighting Al-Qaeda while you are not is a disgraceful act.
The current government needs to understand that because of the policies it is following, it is damaging other sectors of the Yemeni economy like tourism and investment.
Because in reality, Who would invest in a country were no peace, justice and even infrastructure are available? No one!

ABOUT Yemen Post Publisher & Chief Editor:

Hakim Almasmari is an American journalist and Middle East expert based in Sana'a, Yemen. His work has appeared for many of the worlds top media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Washington Post, AlJazeera, Fox News, The Guardian, The National, USA Today among numerous others. He has also worked with some of the world’s top organizations. Reporting out of Yemen for nearly eight years, he is the current editor in chief for the Yemen Post. He is a university lecturer in the field of international media and also studied business and law. Considered one of the top experts on Yemen, Almasmari has closely worked with international strategic centers and think tanks helping them better understand Yemen. He is a frequent guest on many international TV outlets discussing current local and international affairs. Almasmari's ancestors are from Yemen, and was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. His mother tongue is English and is fluent in Arabic.